CCNY has had a successful integrated marketing and PR program since the late 1980’s, but has seen an explosion of growth, both in classroom content and quality students, in the last ten years.

The four-year PR program aims to teach students five foundational lessons crucial to being a success: defining PR, creating strategy, improving writing and communications skills, understanding ethics and having practical experience through internships. The fifth foundational element, internships, is a large part of a student’s final year in the program – they work with actual clients to create innovative and creative campaigns.

With the rise of social media, CCNY has integrated social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter into all of their course offerings, including one class dedicated completely to social media.

Throughout the interview, Ms. Appelbaum explained that although keeping up with social media is important for this generation of students, solid writing skills still stand as the most important asset.

“You hear cries from all sectors of PR saying, ‘Where are all the good writers?’ It remains a fundamental part of PR,” said Ms. Appelbaum.